The Lost Wanderer
by Ivefallenout3times3
Summary: Nicole Fox is ex-legion. She drifts from town to town and job to job trying to stay off the legion radar. But one delivery job gets her some very unwanted attention. (Feedback is very encouraged!)
1. Chapter 1

I woke up. The smell of dust and dirt filled my nose. I slowly turned my head and looked at the clocked on the nightstand; 6:00 AM. I curse my mental alarm clock that never let me sleep past 6. I lay in bed for a few minutes before I finally decide to swing my legs off the side of the bed and sit up. I look around the room at the assortment of medical supplies and machinery. This reminds me to thank the Doc for letting me stay here. I sigh and slowly shuffle into the kitchen, where I hear him making breakfast.

"Well, look who's awake! You slept a good 12 hours last night, yes you did. Imma reckon you need that sleep though, seein' as how you're headed off today for...-" He paused what he was doing to try to remember where I was going.

"I'm headed for the strip, sir." I smiled and walked over to the kitchen table and sat down.

"That's right, The Strip! I can see those lights for miles. Maybe I should head up there one of these here days. I'm sure as hell not getting any younger!" He chuckled. "How would you like your Brahmin meat strips, young lady?"

"Same as always Doc, barely cooked."

He grimaced. "I will never have the slightest clue on how you can eat your meat so close to the raw. It's like chewin on a mucus ball!"

I laughed out loud at his comparison. "It's the way I grew up eatin' 'em."

He looked puzzled at this remark. He brought our plates over and sat down on the other side of the table.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, little lady. But what do you mean by "You grew up eatin' 'em this way"? I can't see as how a parent would let their child eat nearly raw meat."

I smiled politely. "I didn't know my parents. I think they died…but I'm guessing I was too young to remember it. I was raised by…other people."

"Why did you just hesitate before you said 'other people'? What kind of people?"

Fuck.

I took a bite of my meat and silently cursed my stupidity. "I think its best I stop talking. If that's ok."

He looked at me until I became uncomfortable. "What's with the accusatory look there, Doc?"

"How long you been stayin in my house?"

Where is this going…?

"Uh… about two weeks, sir."

"And have I made you pay me anything in return?"

Oh my shit. Is he really going to play this card on me?

"….No. You haven't made me pay anything…"

He sat back in his chair and said, "I'm here to collect. I want you to tell me who raised you, as payment for my southern hospitality."

I sighed and then chuckled a little. It's funny that the old man cares this much, but I don't think he knows what the hell to expect.

"Fine. You _really_ want to know who raised me?"

He sat up in his chair. "Yes. I would really care to know."

I hesitated a bit before speaking.

"Since as far back as I can remember, I was raised by… The Legion. I was treated as a man, and trained as one too. I remember running up and down hills all day when I was about 10 years old. We ate the meat that close to the raw as a training exercise; it taught our bodies to adapt to such extremes and not to rely on a fire to fully cook our meals. I remember how hard it was to keep a fire alive with all the dust and wind, so adapting to the amount of meat it would cook was actually a brilliant idea. Even if the fire _could_ fully cook our meals, we never ate them that way. Good thing that it still tasted really good!"

Talking about that subject reminded me that I still had some meat left to eat, and I took a bite. As I was chewing, I slowly realized that the Doctor wasn't saying anything. I uncomfortably looked up. "What's wrong?"

"You….are a Legionary….?" He stood up and slowly began to back up. I suddenly realized what was going on. He thought I was still part of the Legion. Legionaries only settle in with people when they are there on _business._

I chocked on my Brahmin with realization and stood up a bit too fast. His hand flew to his back, where I knew he kept his holstered .45. I quickly raised my hands in surrender.

"No! Doc, you don't understand! You didn't let me finish my story!"

"I understand well enough what lone Legionnaires do!" He slowly pulled out his gun and raised it to me.

"Stop, please! Please let me explain! When I was about 16 I was taken on my first scouting mission with a group of Elite soldiers. I was allowed to do so because of the power I demonstrated. Elite soldiers were meant to protect me and allow me to see what goes on during a simple scouting mission. About two days into the scouting-"

He cocked his gun. "You best get to the point!"

I swallowed hard. Even though I knew I could easily kill this man, I wasn't going to. I was determined to talk myself out of this situation. If I really were still part of The Legion, I would have ripped this man's head off five minutes ago. But I am no longer a Legionary.

"Ok! Ok. We were attacked by the NCR. We were being defeated faster than we could think. The NCR killed all five of the men in my group, but they left me alive. They said "We don't kill children. You were raised to act this way, and we understand that. We hope by our sparing your life, you can see what it means to be the good guy." And they left me there! I was too afraid to return, because I knew Ceasar would have me killed for not defending my team. Ceasar thinks that we are to fight to out deaths, and I did the opposite! I thanked the NCR and ran away! As far as I know, I'm a wanted woman to The Legion! Please! I am telling you the truth, Doc! Please, put the gun down."

He hesitated and slowly put his gun away. "I… I'm sorry.. I just… I know how The Legion treats those who have a bounty over their heads. I had no idea why you would be here to kill me anyway! I haven't done anything bad… at least I think!" He chuckled.

I dropped my hands down and gawked at how fast he just believed me. I guess my inner "Good Guy" was actually starting to shine through. Maybe I was a trusting person.

I sighed. "Well, that's enough excitement for me. I'm gonna go take a bath and pack my things. I'll see you in a bit."

As I walked out, he called out to me, "Sorry bout that, Fox!"

I chuckled and threw a hand up over my shoulder, "S'ok."

We stood outside the front door in an awkward silence. I was the first one to speak.

"Thanks a whole lot for letting me stay with you, sir. I sure do appreciate it. And this isn't goodbye! I will be back so enough to visit." I smiled.

He grabbed a bag off the floor and pulled something out of it. It looked like a mini computer.

"Here, take this. It's called a Pip-Boy. It's got a map and it keeps stock of all your inventory and money. I guess I don't need it anymore, but I know it could do some good for you."

He slipped it onto my wrist and tightened it down. He then handed me the bag.

"The rest of the stuff in here is for you too; A bunch of stims, water and food to last you about a week. Just enough to get you to the strip, I reckon! And hey, I hope you settle that score with the daisy suited man. Just watch your back. You couldn't trust that feller 'bout as far as you could throw him."

I was amazed at how nice people could still be. I hugged him.

"Thank you, Doc. I will be seeing you soon. And don't worry; that checker suited fuck's clock is ticking."

I smiled and turned to the stairs. I stepped down and began to walk. I looked back when I reached the edge of town and saw him still standing on his porch, watching me leave. I raised my hand real high and gave a huge wave, which he quickly returned. I turned back around and looked at the long broken highway ahead of me.


	2. Chapter 2

I ran my fingers through my hair, pulled the strands away from my face and looked up at the empty sky. I _hated_ the sun. If that hot piece of shit didn't have to exist, I would single handedly make sure it didn't. But what do I expect from the Mojave; a damn blizzard? I scoffed at my own joke and continued walking. As I approached the town of Primm, I saw an NCR trooper standing relatively close to the entrance. As I went to walk past him, he put a hand out to stop me.

"Hey, where the hell do you think you're going? Primm is off limits."

I looked down at his hand and then stepped back to stand in front of him. He was wearing goggles and a five o' clock shadow.

"Well…ok. Why is the town of Primm off limits?"

"Some convicts from the prison up the road have taken over the town. Everyone inside is dead or in hiding. What's more, there are two tribes of raiders causing trouble in this area as well. You'd be safer heading back up to Goodsprings."

I raised an eyebrow. "So shouldn't you be helping them instead of telling me to turn around?" I chuckled to lighten the mood. "I assume that's why you are here, right?"

He gave a hearty chuckled in return. "Yeah, we'd love to, but they don't fall under NCR jurisdiction. Even if they did, we are in no condition to protect them."

Huh?

"Why are you in no shape to protect them? I've seen packs of you guys take on packs of the Legion."

Again he chuckled and then he crossed his arms. "Well, we don't have the equipment to take out the convicts, and even if we did, we need some extra hands for backup. You should talk to Lieutenant Hayes. He is in a tent down the road. Just stay to the West side of the overpass if you don't want to get shot. As for now, I have to get back to 'telling people to turn around', as you said."

I gave a laughed and he stepped to the side. Seeing as how I don't think this 'Hayes' guy can give me any more information than this soldier just did, I'm simply just gonna walk on through to the other side of this overpass and continue on my journey.

As I walk on the west side of this town, I do see that in fact, there are collectively maybe five NCR troopers. Makes me wish I had the time to help. Instead, I walk past all six men and make it to another empty, broken freeway road.

My journey is shorter than I thought it would be as I see a dinosaur just on the horizon. I smiled to myself, because I was about to see a good friend of mine that I haven't seen in God knows how long.

I quickened my pace to a moderate jog; I was actually excited. After about five minutes of solid running, I got to the gates of the Novac motel. This place was one of the few places in this goddamned world that I could feel safe and call home. I looked down at my pip-boy and checked the time; 7:45 PM. Manny is still on duty. Boone is up in his room. I ran up the stairs and knocked softly on the door. My heart was racing. I heard the familiar booted footsteps that approached the door and smiled. The door opened and the gorgeous face of my friend shown through.

"Hey, good lookin', what's cookin'?" I winked.

He laughed and pulled me into his room. "Oh my gosh, Nic! You look great. Where have you been? I oughta beat the livin' shit outta you! I haven't heard from you in weeks."

I hugged him tight and he kissed my cheek.

"Well, it's kinda a long story, babe." (We always play with each other with those lovey dovey names. It makes things less stressful and more playful!)

"Spit it out!"

I sighed and plopped down on his bed. By the smell of this room, I can tell the Boone has more women up here than he needs. As he plopped down next to me and we looked up at his ceiling, I softly sung the lyrics to a pre-war song: "The smell of wine and cheap perfume."

Boone gave a huge laugh. "Hey now! No need to compare my life to Journey's music. Maybe I happen to like the smell of cheap perfume! Heh heh. Anyway, stop stalling. Tell me where you have been."

"Well, as I was out one day, in a hole-in-the-wall- town, a man came up to me and said that he needed one more courier to deliver a package from Primm to The Lucky 38 hotel. He said that there was a 2000 cap bonus for the completed job. So, I went for it. It was an eight mile round trip and figured I could run it in a couple of days".

He cut me off, "Yeah, but you didn't. Get to the point sweetheart. I'm not exactly thrilled that you traveled all that way without me. You are still probably being watched by the Legion, y'know."

I waved my hand in a 'shooing' motion. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyway, I arrive at Primm at the end of the second day. My shipment hasn't arrived yet, so I have to stay in Primm for a week. My package finally arrives; I take it and head back on the road. Next thing I remember, I'm tied up at the old cemetery in Goodsprings."

Boone's eyes widen. "The Legion really was after you?!"

I half-heartedly chuckled. "Not exactly. I don't consider a two-toned prick with a checkered suit to be anywhere close to Legion material. I mean, I would know."

Boone turned on his side to look at me. "Well? What happened next?"

I recited to him everything I could remember.

_What the fuck….? Where am I?_

_My head pounds with pain._

_I try to reach for my forehead. _

_My hands are tied._

_Tied too tight._

_I look up and see three men standing in front on me._

_I can see the moon behind them._

_The man in the middle wears a white and black checkered suit and is smoking a cigarette. _

_Whatta tool this guy must be._

_One of the other men sees me looking and speaks._

"_Look who is waking up over here."_

_The man with the suit takes one last drag from his cigarette then drops it to the floor ._

_He too speaks._

"_Time to cash out."_

_The man on his right leans forward and says, "Would you get it over with?"_

_The suited man only raises a finger to silence him. "Maybe Khans kill people without lookin' them in the face, but I aint a fink, ya' dig?"_

_Yup. Major tool._

_The suited man reaches into the inside of his coat and I tense up immediately. But instead of a gun, he pulls out a poker chip._

"_You've made your last delivery kid."_

_He replaces the chip inside his coat and then pulls out what I feared he had before._

_A gun._

"_Sorry you got twisted up in this scene. Cause from where you're sitting, it must look like and 18 caret run of bad luck."_

_He raises the gun._

_Oh God._

"_Truth is… The game was rigged from the start."_

_He squeezes._

_Darkness. _


End file.
